The International Jazz Hall Of Fame

I take great pride in announcing that I have become a member of the Board of Directors of The International Jazz Hall Of Fame. I have been involved with this great organization for the past 20 years and I am eager to help find a permanent home for the IJHF and assist in the next round on Induction & Awards. Who Is In The Hall

The International Jazz Hall of Fame is devoted to preserving the heritage of Jazz Music and introducing emerging generations to this uniquely American musical legacy through an interactive multimedia museum, performance venue and music school. We will accomplish this goal through entertainment, preservation and education.

“The International Jazz Hall of Fame is about more than just honoring those of us who have been around awhile. It’s about educating the public about our music…and most importantly, about providing the opportunity for our young people to develop their talents and humanistic qualities that are needed for the future.”-John B. ‘’Dizzy” Gillespie
IJHOF International Chairman, Emeritus

Yogi Berra On Jazz
An interview with the Master of MalapropismsInterviewer: Can you explain Jazz?Yogi: I can't, but I will. 90% of all Jazz is half improvisation. The other half is the part people play while others are playing something they never played with anyone who played that part. So if you play the wrong part, its right. If you play the right part, it might be right if you play it wrong enough. But if you play it too right, it's wrong.Interviewer: I don't understand.Yogi: Anyone who understands Jazz knows that you can't understand it. It's too complicated. That's what's so simple about it
Interviewer: Do you understand it?
Yogi: No. That's why I can explain it. If I understood it, I wouldn't know anything about it.
Interviewer: Are there any great Jazz player alive today?
Yogi: No. All the great Jazz players alive today are dead. Except for the ones that are still alive. But so many of them are dead, that the ones that are still alive are dying to be like the ones that are dead.
Interviewer: What is syncopation?
Yogi: That's when the note that you should hear now happens either before or after you hear it. In Jazz, you don't hear notes when they happen because that would be some other type of music. Other types of music can be Jazz, but only if they're the same as something different from those other kinds.
Interviewer: Now I really don't understand.
Yogi: I haven't taught you enough for you to not understand Jazz that well.